To practice loyalty
by dalilamoon21
Summary: The mafia never felt so real to Sawada Tsunayoshi, until the day he saw one of his friends die.
1. Prologue

To practice loyalty

By: Dalilamoon21

For those who have read my stories, they can see that I like to add a touch of realism to them. Tsuna is such a sweet and innocent boy that I can picture him breaking down if somebody were to die because of him. I also happen to like Mukuro the most of all the characters; aside from Tsuna of course, cause he is just so molestable and Mukuro would eventually posses his body and this is my shameful way of getting them together.

Reborn and all of its characters are property of Akira Amano. And all the quotes are from Nietzsche.

**X**

_I can't, can't do it anymore_

_You are giving up?_

_What else is there to do?_

_It's so unlike you_

_He is too strong, I can't keep up...is over._

_It isn't, there is still a chance_

_Chance? The pills are gone, there are no more bullets_

_You don't need them_

_I can't call the flame without them!_

_The flame has always been inside of you_

_I'm sorry, I'm just lame-Tsuna after all_

_Enough with the excuses_

_What do you know?!_

_No lame-Tsuna could have ever defeated me_

_It was different_

_How is it any different from now_

_..._

_They are counting on you, we-_

_So tired..._

_Don't you dared close your eyes Tsunayoshi! Listen to my voice!_

**X**

"So this is it, the will of the Vongola." Byakuran looks at the boy laying on a pool of his own blood with amusement. "My, my Tsu-kun I have to say that I'm mildly disappointed, out of all the other you, I was expecting more of a fight, after all, the Tsuna of this time-line went trough all that trouble just to get you here."

Sawada Tsunayoshi tries to focus on the man standing in front of him, but it is hard to do when he is barely able to keep himself conscious; the sound of the battle and the man's voice sound so far away now. Byakuran kneels in front of the teenage boy and grabs his face so that he can see it better.

"Although I have to say that it is a first, seeing you like this, so young and fragile."

Tsuna tries to free himself, but he just cant do it. It's over, he thinks, he has failed them all.

"Do you know" Byakuran whispers in Tsuna's ear, "How many times I have seen you die?"

_'So tired'_

_'Don't close your eyes!'_

"I lost count already"

_'I can't'_

_'Tsunayoshi listen to my voice!'_

"This would be the last time"

Sawada Tsunayoshi closes his eyes, waiting for the finishing blow that never came. He hears the sickening noise of broken bones, and feels something wet and warm hit his face. When he opens his eyes, the last thing he would have ever expected to see was the face of his mist guardian.

"I told you not to close your eyes"

"Mukuro" The boy whispers, not believing that Mukuro Rokudo is now facing him, a fist sticking out of his chest, a fist aimed at him.

"What's this? Seriously Mukuro-kun, protecting your boss? What a loyal guardian you turned out to be"

The white hair man pulls his hand out, making the body drop to the ground next to the brunette.

"Aren't you happy Tsu-kun, your guardian just die protecting you, you must be proud"

Tsuna turns his face sideways, in order to look at the man laying next to him when he realizes that he is looking right back at him, with an amused smirk on his face.

"Why?"

"I wonder why"

"Mukuro, why?"

He can feel the tears pouring down his face, mixing with the man's blood, his body is shaking, his heart is beating faster and he feels something bitter crawling up his body, trying to find it's way out.

"WHY!!"

"So unbecoming of the Vongola boss to cry like this, how pathetic."

Tsuna drags himself closer to the dying body, In his shock, he has no idea what to do, his intuition failing him this time. Byakuran watches amused as Tsuna turns the man's body over and tries covering the hole in his chest.

"You can't die"

"Kufufu, are those tears really for me? Still such a kind child"

"Mukuro I'm serious, you can't die"

"You can't give up"

"You can't die, is an order!"

"Oya, oya. Since when do I take orders from you?"

"Please..."

The mist guardian slaps the boy's hands away and with a shaky hand, he reaches to touch his forehead.

"You don't need any pills you know."

Mukuro turns his face and points in the direction of the explosions coming from the other side of the forest.

"You promised them didn't you, that you would take them back. The Sawada Tsunayoshi I know would do anything to protect his friends."

Mukuro's arms give up and fall to the floor, his eyes are closing now and Tsuna knows that it is over, he was dying.

"Do me a favor and kill the bastard won't you Tsunayoshi"

Those were Mukuro Rokudo last words.

"Hahaha!! Seriously, that guy must hate my guts. But no matter; what a useless sacrifice really, it changes nothing, don't you think so Tsu-kun?"

"You bastard"

Despite everything that has happen so far, all the battles they had fought, all the danger they have survived; Tsuna has never felt something as ugly and dark as the hate that he is feeling right now. Hate for Byakuran, for the future, hate at himself for being so useless, hate at the mafia for even existing.

"Oh? You can stand up still"

"YOU BASTARD!!"

The flame that engulfed Tsuna that day was so bright and pure, that it was seen a mile away. Everybody stopped in awe of the power coming from the Vongola boss. From the distance Reborn could only smiled with pride, his student had finally surpass his teacher, there was nothing else he could teach him now.

Yuni smiled a sad smile. She could feel the pain and anger burning inside the Vongola decimo, it was tragic really, the price he had to pay in order to obtain such a power.

"Uncle Reborn, will he be ok?"

Reborn's eyes are glued in the distance, his smile is gone, instead an unreadable expression falls over his baby face.

"Dunno"

_'No deed can be annihilated: how could it be undone by the punishment! That existence too must eternally become deed and guilt, this, this is what is eternal in the punishment 'existence''_


	2. Chapter 1

This is a series of one-shots that describe how Tsuna and those around him are dealing with their trip to the future. And how some people are going to take advantage of the situation for their own reasons and goals. I hope that you like them and reviews and suggestions are welcome.

X

When somebody dies protecting you, the feelings of guilt will gnaw at your very soul, reminding you of how weak you were to stop such a selfless sacrifice. Owing your life to somebody, shakes your world to the very core and makes you re-evaluate your self and your place in life. A life that you took from somebody else.

Because they died for you, instead of you; might as well have killed them yourself.

The feelings of impotence and worthlessness would pierce trough your very heart, ripping the muscles and leave you bleeding alone. Because they are gone and you are still here and is just not fair.

But if you follow the program, you would eventually take those five steps. You would come to realize that it was their decision all along, that they were thinking of you, because they cared about you. You should appreciate the second chance that you were given and move on with your life.

That wound would stop bleeding, it would heal and scab and leave nothing but a scar that would become a remembrance of them.

But what about the ones who lost the program along the way?

The ones that are not strong enough to take the steps, afraid of facing reality and instead of letting the wound heal, they pick on the scab, watching in fascination as the blood and puss oozes out of it.

They refuse to move on, obsessing over the what ifs and what nots; stuck in a mental tape that goes around and around reminding them again and again how their shortcomings cost a life.

In their struggle, some of them will explode, screaming and burning with righteous anger trough their lungs. They would eventually turn a blind eye for; '_It is drunken joy for the sufferer to look away from his suffering and lose himself.'_They would mock their sacrifice and speak of their actions with contempt; 'I never asked this of them, it was their decision, how dare they try and put this cross over my shoulders!' And in their blindness, they would justify their anger and find their absolution.

And the others...

The others will forever carry their guilt like a cross, self-flagellating in their journey as if it were a divine punishment. Closing on themselves, afraid of tainting others with their shame; '_If only he could shake his head, then his burden would roll off, but who shakes that head?' _They would welcome the wound, embrace it like a child, let it fester and eat at them for it is only right. They are not looking for absolution. They are waiting for their punishment.

This wraith like creatures, moving in and out of reality without direction and without a goal; turning their lives into a travesty of what it used to be. They suffer and make those around them suffer also by closing their hearts and pushing them away, because deep down they want to share their pain, make them suffer like they do.

They beg for a forgiveness that would never come, because the dead can't answer back.

They suffer the most, because they love and treasure the most. They are like the sky, who embraces everything under its wings. And when the sky falls down, we all go down with it.


	3. Chapter 2

I would be using many people's point of view, especially those that we are not really used to seeing. I like Tsuna's mom, and I think that she just has no voice either in the manga or fiction.

X

Nana Sawada was such an odd mixture of characteristics. Her whimsical disposition could sometimes make her look silly and simple minded. Her loving nature and ability to accept anyone and their flaws with open arms, could make her seem too unwary. And the way that she took things in stride and wouldn't wonder of their validity, makes some think of her as an ignorant person.

Reborn doesn't think of her as unwary, but as a good judge of character. Not silly, but sensible. Not ignorant, just... left out. But some things couldn't stay under the carpet forever, especially when you keep putting more and more dirt under it.

Reborn knew that now that her son had gotten involve with the mafia, it was only a matter of time before the truth came to light. He had talked about this with Iemitsu, "You may be right" he had said "but I don't think she needs to know that yet. It's too soon." He gave the baby a small sad smile, "But when the time comes," he continued "I would like to be the one to tell her; it's only right don't you think?"

When the battle for the rings started, everyone tried their hardest to keep Iemitsu's wife in the dark. But the arcobaleno could see the suspicion on Nana's face whenever they lied to her about their wounds and their absences. Excuses can only get them so far and soon, even Nana with her kind nature, would tire of them.

When Lambo was sent to the hospital, it became even harder. She started asking questions, making small comments, giving them looks. They all hated lying, but it was for the best, it wasn't the time and most importantly, it wasn't their place.

The day that Lambo was released, she seemed to have drop the questioning. She decided that it will be better to ignore what the two most important man in her life were hiding from her for another day, for right now her family was back together and she wanted to enjoy some peaceful days.

But the peaceful days didn't last long; her son had disappear and in his absence, the lies came out.

Learning that the man she love, the man she had known for over seventeen years had kept such a big secret from her; had almost broke the kind hearted woman. Nobody had ever seen the woman angry before, she had never raised her voice or utter curse words; until that day. The day when the dirt came spilling out of her carpet, dirt she didn't even knew was there.

Iemitsu wasn't surprised at the anger, or the big rift it created in their relationship. It hurt of course. Having his precious Nana ignoring him, seeing her sitting on her son's room for hours, walking around her own house like a ghost, treating everybody with polite indifference, shame him and all of the others that had been part of the joke. He knew that the only way to find forgiveness, was by finding their son.

"I don't want to think about this whole mafia business right now" she had said tearfully to her husband "just find my son." Iemitsu couldn't help but noticed how she had said '_my_' instead of '_our_'

When Nana's son was found after a long miserable month, along with all of his friends; the woman had been so relieved and grateful that her prayers were finally answered. Once again, she decided to ignore the circumstances and details, until a more appropriate time.

When she saw her son standing in her kitchen, a tiny Reborn sitting on his shoulders, her heart stopped and her body trembled.

"Oh Tsu-kun, mama missed you so much"

The woman had cried, hugging and kissing her son, breathing in his scent, checking every part of his body to make sure that everything, from his spiky brown hair, to his very last toe, was safe and sound.

This was when the world would right itself. Her son would push her away embarrassed, asking her to stop fuzzing over him. Everyone would laugh at the touching scene, and he would give her his nervous smile and look at her with those big brown eyes to tell her that everything was alright.

But her son didn't pushed her away. In fact, he was hugging her with a strength she didn't know he possess, clinging to her as if she would disappear if he let go. He was trembling and Nana felt the dampness on her shoulder and she started to get worried. "Tsu-kun, what's wrong sweetie" She looked at him, searching his eyes for whatever malady was afflicting her son. After looking at his tear stained face she knew, like any mother would, that something was very wrong with her son.

It became obvious to her that while her baby had come back unharmed, he was falling apart.

She took him then, ignoring the cries of 'Tenth' and 'Tsuna' and 'Maman' and 'Nana', coming from the crowd that had gathered at her house. She was relieved when Reborn told everybody to shut up. It was her turn to help her son, and there was no mafia in the world that would get in her way.

Iemitsu tried to get closer to his wife and son, aching for them. But Nana stopped him. "This" she said. looking behind her with sad eyes, "Is all your fault" And she walked up the stairs, shutting herself and her son in his room, leaving everybody out. Nobody came out for a while.

"I am surprised that Tsuna lasted this long, he really fooled us all." Reborn told Everyone "None of you can help Tsuna right now, we can only wait for maman to heal him" They all seemed very reluctant to go and Reborn couldn't help but be glad that everybody was so worried over his student.

"Just go to your families and wait... thats all we can do"

_'As deeply as man looks into life, so deeply does he also look into suffering.'_


	4. Chapter 3

I like the Mukuro of the future, he is so composed and cool; unlike Hibari that seriously doesn't change. The fifteen year old Mukuro is not as mature as his older self obviously, he is still learning from his mistakes and is trying to accept his new role, but I think that he is still the more mature of the guardians. How sad that a mass murderer seems to have his mind better put together than the other characters, but that's why I like him. The Idea of a mental palace is taken out of Hannibal.

**X**

Rokudo Mukuro hums whimsically as he roams the floors of kokuyou health land. His footsteps echo loudly on the empty building. The clicking sound is even and almost hypnotic and it reminds him of the metronome he smashed into the police psychiatrist head before he got sent to prison.

He has decided to take a break from his silent vigil, or else he would go crazy. He smiles at that, him crazy? What a strange notion. He ignores the many doors and corridors as he passes by, he is not in the mood to visit anybody today; tomorrow, he would try tomorrow.

A walk outside would be good for him he thinks, smelling the fresh air, enjoying the sun. He is in the mood for swimming, a little work out wouldn't go amiss. After that, he should probably focus on cleaning the east wing of the building, it would keep his mind busy and it is never good to procrastinate.

Once he reaches the main doors and steps outside, he breaths in the fresh air and enjoys the feeling of the sun caressing his face; the sun is always high in the sky in here, he has made sure of that. He has also made sure that no clouds marred the perfection of his sky, which is the most clearest and purest color of blue possible.

He takes the scenic route to the pool, deciding to visit the zoo first, he has been neglecting his animals since this whole mess started. His zoo is much larger than the original of course, and houses a variety of animals that would make any other one jealous. He even has a giant bird cage, housing exotic birds from all over the world. He enjoys sitting there sometimes and takes great delight in watching the birds struggling to get out.

Upon reaching the pool, he takes his clothes off and after folding them very neatly, he puts them on one of the many reclining chairs. He climbs up the ladder of the high dive, savoring the feeling of strain in his muscles. How sad it is he thinks, to miss such a laughable thing as the stretching of one's muscles. But just as he embraces the sun, he embraces the pain, for it is better to feel alive than not to feel anything at all.

Once at the top, he surveys his domain, it is coming along pretty well if he says so himself. Mukuro Rokudo has worked very hard this last months building his 'mental palace'* By using the old dilapidated building he had called home before being imprisoned as a foundation, he built himself an illusionary escape, a resort of sorts.

When the only company one has is 'one-self', steps have to be taken to keep the mind grounded in order to preserve 'that-self' intact. Being thrown into the deepest hell of the Vindice underground prison, with nothing but the echoing sound of water to lulled you into a state of stasis, can make anyone insane.

But what is sanity but a state of mind. And who decides who is sane or not?

There are those that call him insane, a psychopath; they labeled him a monster and manipulator, they judge his ideas and actions by their standards, so they called them acts of terrorism and senseless murders.

In all of the accounts, they are absolutely right.

He is a psychopath.

But there are also those that call him a genius, gifted; they call him master and consider him their Savior.

This poor deluded children, who had no place to call home and nobody to go to. In their distress and confusion they cling to him and adore him. There is no need to possess them, their minds and bodies belong to him.

He is the puppeteer who controls the threads and puts on the show.

He is the illusionist that controls the mind and warps reality.

He is the temptation that promises you salvation.

Although, there is one person out there, who with his blatant forgiving nature and pure heart, wants to call him something else; friend, family.

Sawada Tsunayoshi, how he wants to possess him, body and soul.

He opens his arm, stretching them wide open in a twisted simile of Jesus at the cross; for what is he but a loyal Savior to his children.

But loyalty comes with a price.

He takes the plunge then, the feeling of vertigo is exhilarating and makes him feel liberated. Free from his shackles, from his thoughts, free from all the doubts in his heart and the unwanted feelings.

It is sad he thinks, that with all of his power and illusions, he can't keep the water warm.

_'And he listen to his poor reason: it's words lay upon him like lead-so he robbed when he murdered. He did not want to be ashamed of his madness.'_


	5. Chapter 4

For someone like Gokudera Hayato and Ryohei Sasagawa waiting is like nails on a chalkboard.

For Yamamoto Takeshi and Dino, waiting is like practice.

For Kyoko and Haru, waiting is something they had to learn.

For Timoteo and Reborn, waiting is an art form that Iemitsu is still trying to master.

Chrome Dokuro and Bianchi are used to waiting.

Hibari Kyoya and Xanxus don't wait for anyone. So being unable to beat some sense into the herbivore scum is extremely infuriating for them.

Xanxus because he can't physically do it, being incarcerated and all, and Hibari because no matter what his reputation, he would never force himself on an innocent person like Nana Sawada.

Why Xanxus demands to travel all the way to Japan in order to shove the sky ring so far down into the small teen's throat to snap him out of his little mental breakdown, is a bit of a mystery for Timoteo. Shouldn't he be happy that his biggest obstacle seemed to be about to abandoned the race?

News were dire indeed; It has been a week since Nana Sawada and her son barricaded themselves inside their home. Other than the girls, nobody had been allowed to go inside the place.

Tsuna still refuses to come out of his room, let alone speak to anybody other than his mother, and Nana is tight lipped about whatever was happening to her son.

Coming back from the future hasn't been easy on anybody,

The official story was that Tsuna had been kidnapped and that his friends had gone looking after him.

Who would want to kidnapped 'lame-Tsuna' was anyone's guess, and while ninety percent of the school body couldn't care less what had actually happened to the boy, it didn't stop them from making up stories to pass lunch period.

There were those that went for the obvious: 'Maybe Tsuna is actually a rich boy/prince/hero/etc... and got kidnapped as ransom' manga plot. But this was Tsuna, so it didn't get many followers. The more level-headed ones believe that Tsuna probably just ran away for being such a failure, while more practical it was also boring and left to much time in ones hand.

The most popular and outlandish being that Tsuna; with his small physique and girlish looks, had grabbed the attention of some Yakuza sex ring and had until recently been used as a personal sex toy for some rich shotacon lover.

Gokudera almost had a heart attack when he first heard about it.

If it wasn't for Yamamoto, Nanimori middle would have become another school massacre story in the news, which is the main reason why the neurotic teen is now staying at the swordsman's place. Bianchi's intuition tells her that something major must of happened between the two teens in order for Yamamoto to be Gokudera's voice of reason.

Unfortunately, Tsuna's imposed exile only brings more credence to the story, for now everyone at school says that Tsuna must be so traumatized from his sexual abuse, that he is too afraid to come outside. Much to the mortification of the guardians and co.

Mukuro, now that he doesn't have to worry about a missing Crome and Tsunayoshi, finds the whole situation extremely amusing. Chrome doesn't share his sentiments, and its rather more mortified than Gokudera himself for she can relate to her poor boss. Had she been in his place...

She begs her master to save their boss, for she saw what he did and believes he is the only one capable of doing it. Mukuro is only happy to oblige.

Mukuro is an expert at knowing when he has waited long enough, and when it is time to act.

He waits exactly six days before sending Chrome to the Sawada househould, while everyone is at school of course.


	6. Chapter 5

I finished this chapter pretty fast actually; I hope it came out ok. Thank you for the reviews. There are mentions of suicide in this chapter, you have been warned.

Reborn and any of its character don't belong to me, grammar mistakes do.

X

It was a beautiful Monday morning when the doorbell rang in the Sawada's home. Nana had just finished making breakfast and was serving it to the three children staying at her house. She is surprised for she is not expecting anybody at the moment. She knows that her husband and the others wouldn't dare showed up until she allowed it.

"I wonder who it could be so early," She tells the kids. They are looking at her curiously, and Nana can tell that they are also a little worried, things have been tense lately. "Maybe is the mailman delivering a package," she says in a kind tone. The children take comfort in her words and start to eat their breakfast.

When Nana opens the door, she is really surprised to find a girl wearing an eye patch standing right outside. She knows who she is, for the girls had talked about her since they came back. They had been worried that the girl had disappear right after they arrived and nobody would them were she was staying.

She looks just as the girls described her: small, cute and delicate. It was really hard to believe that such a small little thing could be associated with the mafia.

"Chrome-chan isn't it?" She says warmly to the shy girl who seems to be afraid to even look at her.

Chrome is very surprised that the woman even knows who she is, so is Mukuro. Chances are that she probably doesn't know enough, or else she wouldn't be greeting Chrome so kindly.

"Please come in, we are just having breakfast."

The woman is as kind and beautiful as the girls told her, Chrome thinks that this is what a real mother is supposed to be.

'_Chrome' _Mukuro chides her. _'Sorry Mukuro-sama.'_ She stops her musings and follows the woman inside. Nana looks at the blushing girl curiously and smiles at her. The girls also mentioned that she wasn't used to people being kind to her.

"Have you eaten anything Chrome-chan? There is plenty of food, you are more than welcomed." Nana asks the shy girl. "Uh..no" This is an unexpected turn of events, but Mukuro doesn't worried much, he just needs Chrome to improvised a little. "Please join us; the kids would love to see you," she smiles encouragingly and guides the girl to the kitchen.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, I-pin and Lambo jumped from of their seats and started talking excitedly to the girl. Nana and Futa watched with amusement as the two kids climbed up the girl's body and soon she had her arms full, literally.

"Hai, hai. Lambo-chan, I-pin-chan. Why don't we let Chrome-chan sit down so that she can eat too." I-pin took the girls hand and pulled her to the chair next to her, much to Lambo's displeasure.

"Futa, this is Chrome-chan. I don't think you two have met." Futa smiles shyly at the pretty girl; he has no idea of her connection to the man that had treated him so cruelly. Nana serves the girl breakfast, but instead of sitting down with them, she grabs a tray and starts to put some plates on it.

"Well, I'll be right back. Please behave for Chrome-chan until I return." The woman takes the tray and starts to head up upstairs.

'_Ask her where she is going'_

"Uhm, excuse me, were are you going?" Chrome is embarrassed; she has never been this direct to anybody.

Nana smiles a sad smile. "To give Tsu-kun his breakfast." With that, the woman walks up the stairs, leaving her alone with the children.

"Didn't you know? Tsuna-nii is really sick. He won't come out of his room or talk to anybody." Futa tells her in a hushed whisper. I-pin and Lambo nodded sadly.

"Oh. I didn't know."

"He won't even talk to Lambo-san." The cow child said offended.

"Tsuna-san is very sad." I-pin said.

"And nobody would tell us what is wrong with him, and Lambo doesn't even know even though he was there in the future with the others." Futa added and gave the cow an accusatory glare.

"Lambo-san knows everything, for he was there saving everyone!" The excited child said, giving Futa the evil eye. "Oh really. Then what happened to Tsuna-nii to make him so sick?"

"Ah, well, that you see. It wasn't there for that" The child finished lamely.

"How about you Chrome-neechan? You must know something since you are a guardian." The three kids stared at Chrome with hope in their eyes.

'_How I hate children' Mukuro_ said in Chromes mind.

"I'm sorry but I don't really know myself." The children look crestfallen and start to eat their food again. For a moment the only sound in the room was of them eating.

'_The woman is taking too long.' _Chrome looked at the stairs concerned. _"Maybe I came at the wrong time." _Chrome waited to hear what her Mukuro-sama had to say. '_No, this is perfect. The scorpion is not here and the children don't know about us—this is better than I thought. Let's just wait a little.'_

"You know," Futa started, "a couple of nights ago something bad happened," the child said conspiratorially. "We were sleeping when we heard Maman screaming. We tried to see what was going on but Maman wouldn't let us look what was going on in the bathroom. We had to wait until Bianchi-nee came to our room and told us that everything would be ok because the doctor was here."

'_Oh. It appears that things are worst than I thought.' _Mukuro said in Chrome's mind.

'_What do you mean Mukuro-sama?'_

'_Do not worry child, I'll take care of it.'_

Chrome was relieved to hear that, she knew that if anybody could help their boss it would be her Mukuro-sama. "What do you think happened, Chrome-neechan?" Futa asked the older girl. "I...I don't know. Sorry" The kids became quiet again.

When the children finished eating, they took the plates to the sink. Futa pulled out a steep stool and started washing the dishes, I-pin was helping drying and Lambo was putting them away. It was really sweet in Chromes opinion, to see the kids help out with the chores. When she finished her meal, she handed her plate to the older of the kids and sat down having nothing to do but wait.

X

Nana knocked on the door and waited for a reply. A soft enter was heard and she open the door as quietly as she could. Other than a small lamp, the lights were off and the curtains were pulled close.

"I brought breakfast Bianchi-san."

The Italian girl smiled warmly from the chair she was sitting and put the magazine she was reading away. Next to her on the bed, Sawada Tsunayoshi slept peacefully.

Nana put the tray on the small table and sat down on the bed. She ran her fingers through her son's silky hair and smiled tenderly. "He is soundly sleep finally" The woman said. "Shamal did say that the medicine was really strong, he said it was the equivalent of a horse tranquilizer for humans." Bianchi told the woman.

The last thing Nana wanted was to start her son on medication. She had hope that her support alone and some time to rest would bring him back to his usual self. But the incident two days ago made her change her mind.

Call it mother's intuition or sixth sense, but whatever woke the woman up that night saved her sons life. Something was wrong, her heart told her so. Immediately she went to check on her son and when she found his room empty, she knew right away that something was wrong. She went to the bathroom for there was a possibility that he was there; the door was locked. She called his name but there was no response. Right away she went to the living room to wake Bianchi up.

"Tsu-kun is in the bathroom and he won't open the door."

Immediately the Italian girl made her way upstairs and used her poison cooking to melt the lock. What they found would forever be imprinted on the women's hearts. There stood Tsuna, the Vongola decimo holding Nana's exacto knife, wrists bleeding. Bianchi struggled with the boy to take the knife away; it wasn't easy with the boy's strength and the blood in the way. Nana's screamed woke the children up, but she immediately took them back to their room before they saw anything and told them to stay there, everything would be ok she told them.

When she returned to the bathroom, she found her son passed out in Bianchi's lap; she feared the worst. "Don't worry, I put him down, his wounds aren't that shallow. Just put pressure with the towel and hold him while I call a doctor."

Nana couldn't believe it. Her son, her precious son had hurt himself.

She would forever be thankful to the Italian girl, how she managed to stay so calm despite the situation was admirable; it must be a mafia thing she thought.

It seems that the only good thing of being associated with the Mafia was the connections one had. The doctor arrived faster than Nana thought was possible, and she had a suspicion that that probably had something to do with her husband. Was he expecting something like that?

It all happened so fast. One moment she was holding her son, and the next a man came into the room and told her to stay back while he took care of it.

"Shamal is an excellent doctor," Bianchi told her, "He knows what he is doing and would take care of him. Why don't you clean up while I go to the children's room; they must be scared."

"Bianchi, thank you so much, I don't know what I would have done do without you." The woman said crying.

"Is the least I can do."

Just like Bianchi said, doctor Shamal was efficient. By the time she was finished changing, he had already clean Tsuna and had him lying peacefully in his bed.

"Doctor, how is he doing?"

"He would be fine, his wounds weren't that shallow. His mental state is worst than we feared, I would recommend to start him on some medication." Nana agreed with a heavy heart.

It wasn't easy on her, to see her son all broken inside and being unable to put the pieces back together; it frustrated her greatly. But she needed to hold on; she wouldn't let herself become desperate. She would become his pillar and help him raise his walls back again. She would be there for him, whatever path he decides to take, she would be right behind him.

Shamal warned her that the medicine would take a couple of weeks before it started to work, except for the sleeping medication that would knock him out right away. In the meantime, it would better to hide any sharp object and have him on twenty four hour surveillance.

X

"I better go back downstairs, we have a visitor."

"Really, Who?" Bianchi asked. "You know that girl the girls are always talking about, Chrome-chan."

"WHAT!"

Nana was immediately concerned at Bianchi's outburst."Should I tell her to go?" Bianchi pursed her lips and started thinking what to do. 'Why was Chrome here? Did Mukuro sent her? What was the boy planning?' Her cell phone was downstairs so she couldn't call for help, besides, the only one capable of dealing with Mukuro was that Hibari kid, and she had no idea how to contact him. 'The kids are downstairs!'

'Shit'

"Maman, why don't you stay here and I'll go and see what she wants?"

"Is there something wrong" The woman was scared now, for Bianchi to lose her composure… "Do not worry. Just stay here and I'll talk to her." She gave the woman the best smile she could mange.

"Ok"

Bianchi left the room and as soon as she closed the door, her world came tumbling down. Chrome Dokuro was standing next to the stairs.


End file.
